


You owe me a night

by Kat_Of_Dresden



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Frankenwolf, Hospital, Pills, Sad, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, coma speech, missed calls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 19:21:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2121693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Of_Dresden/pseuds/Kat_Of_Dresden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Victor is in a dark place and has a... relapse. Luckily, Ruby is there to pick up the pieces. Frankenwolf angst, self harm, feels, and helpful Emma and Hook. Very Frankenwolf. Kind of sad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You owe me a night

Victor was in a very, very dark place.

Sometimes he just wanted everything to be over, wanted to disappear.

He tried to be cheerful, told himself that he was doing a great service in the town, told himself that he was doing a lot of good. But no one told him much. When someone died it was his fault, and when they got better he was just doing his job. Nobody cared about him, he was alone in this place, alone with himself. And he had a bad habit of thinking the worst of himself.

The last couple of weeks had been quite terrible. He'd been plagued by memories and nightmares, of days long past, of monsters he'd created. He remembered the scorn of his father, what a great disappointment he'd been to the man, how he had (indirectly, maybe) caused his death. He remembered his brother, that sweet young man, brave, smart, kind, who had always supported him and had died while with him as well. And then became that horrible thing, that murderous monster. What a pitiful existence. He had dedicated his whole to science and for what?  
He had nothing. He had no one.

Work had been quite stressful, too. With every new crisis, more people landed on the hospital, and every case was oh-so-important. And the crisis kept coming and he was supposed to fix everything. That hospital was seriously understaffed. And he was supposed to do everything from treating colds to major surgeries. And he couldn't, sometimes, it was just too much. He was just one guy, he was human, not a machine. He had limitations. And he couldn't just take a vacation because people kept getting hurt, or ill. They needed him.

And it was taking its toll. He worked long hours and when he came back from a long day there was nothing to greet him but booze. He couldn't sleep properly because of the nightmares, and he'd lost his appetite, too. Nothing was going right. And he couldn't, ever, take a break from himself. He went to the hospital, did his job as usual and tried not to break down.

He wiped the tears on his eyes, willing himself to be strong. To get over it. What was what Ruby said? A chance to start over. He'd been given a second chance and he was failing at it, too. Useless. Bringing nothing but monstrosity into the world. So, he was a doctor, had cured some people. But there was nothing special about that. There were many other doctors around, most of them better than him. Likable people. Successful people.

And what was him? A monster. Nothing but that.

While on his sofa, he put on the tv, drank some vodka, trying to distract himself, to make things less bad. It was useless. His head hurt. He just wanted everything to end. It should have ended that day on the pier. But it didn't, because... Ruby.

Victor took his phone and called her. Maybe listening to her voice would make things better. She had a knack for her making him feel that things could actually go right, that even his life was worth living. But Ruby wasn't picking up. He called again some time later, but she didn't pick up. And then again. She probably didn't want to talk to him, they hadn't spoken in ages. He'd meant to go to Granny's but with all the work...

He changed the channels on the tv, but hated all that was on. Still, he didn't go back to bed, back to nightmares and then have to wake up for another long day. He didn't think he had the strength to go through tomorrow, much less the whole week.

Maybe if he had something to be able to rest better...

Ruby was walking the streets of Storybrooke with a smile that night. It had been a long week but it was looking up. When she took her phone her phone after leaving it charging in her room she saw that Victor had called her. Now he wasn't answering but it must have been important because he called three times. He took some food to use the excuse of dinner to go by his place, have a little chat. It had been ages since she'd talked to him, and she was looking forward to a little monster bonding. And she knew that the guy had been working his ass off in the hospital, so he probably appreciated some company and time off.

She'd even put on new fresh clothes she'd been saving for a special occasion and perfume. So, maybe she had a little crush on the Doctor. And maybe she was hoping to get lucky. Maybe. (And Mary Margaret said that he sent flowers the next day, wasn't that super sweet?) But maybe she was getting her hopes way too up. And... No. She'd seen him checking her out and they bonded spiritually too. Her chances were more than good. Yes, it was going to be a good night.

When she arrived at the Doctor's place, something was off. She knocked and knocked and there was no answer. And she knew he was there, because the tv was on, and she could smell him. And there was no way he was sleeping with the tv that loud and her knocking.

"Hey, come on, open up, it's Ruby."

No sound. Not a single movement.

"Victor? Come on, I know you're in there."

Nothing. Ruby was getting a little worried. What if that little chemical scent meant something bad?

"Ok, if you don't want to open up, I don't care, just come to door, tell me good night, something."

Absolutely nothing on the other end. She called his cell. Maybe now he'd pick up. She heard the cell phone ringing but nothing.

"Victor, seriously, I'm starting to get worried. Just say something or I'm gonna have to pick your lock and get in."

Nothing.

Maybe she was overreacting, maybe this was nothing but something in her gut told Ruby that this was wrong and so she broke the lock of the door and got in.

"Victor? Victor!"

He was there, all right. He was there on his sofa, unconscious, a half-empty bottle of sleeping pills on the floor.

"No, no, no, no!"

She took his face on his hands, trying to wake him up, but to no avail.

"Okay, okay, I'm calling an ambulance."

She called and they said they'd be right there. Ruby was trying to calm herself but he looked so bad. So terribly pale and lifeless and she could hardly hear his breathing it was so shallow and he looked so thin and fragile and should she be doing something?

She knew what this was. Painless suicide, you fell asleep and at some your breathing reduced to zero and you died. Without even noticing.

"You hang on, okay? Keep breathing for me, Victor."

Ruby then realised that his previous calls had probably been a cry for help, him reaching to someone he thought may care before doing something drastic. Shit. If she'd only been there to pick up, to tell him that she'd loved to come over, that she missed talking to him... Damn, if she'd known he was this bad, she wouldn't have waited for him to call.

The ambulance ride was eternal and horrible and the EMT asked things about him, things that she couldn't answer, she just held out the bottle of pills and tried to keep herself together, because she felt so bad for him, and because she'd meant to call him for weeks and kept postponing it... Just the realisation that he felt so wrong that overdosing on sleeping pills sounded tempting... And he was so pale and not waking up and Ruby felt like she was stuck on some horrible nightmare.

They finally arrived at the hospital and he was taken away and Ruby was almost grateful because it was just so painful seeing him like that. He'd always been around, having something to drink at Granny's or when she got hurt, he'd always been around and he's seemed okay, but after the curse was broken and he found out all that crap from his past, who did he have to talk? Ruby knew how easy it was remember the bad moments, to fall into the pits of self-loathing.

She needed to talk to someone. She needed to vent all that anguish and guilt and sorrow. So she called Emma (because she felt there were more chances of her being awake than Mary Margaret, and because she felt for some reason that she'd be sympathetic) and then paced through the waiting room. The thought, the simple thought of Victor, smart troubled Victor wanting to end it all... Yes, she was thinking the same thoughts over and over again but she couldn't help herself.

Emma came some minutes later, and Hook was with her.

"I hope you don't mind that Killian came. He wouldn't stay at home, the idiot."

Ruby shook her head.

"No, I just needed someone to talk to. I hope I didn't wake you."

"We weren't sleeping. How is he?"

"I don't know yet. Someone will come when he's stable but... it was so heartbreaking. And to think that he did it on purpose it just..."

"Maybe it was an accident?" Hook suggested, trying to relieve Ruby's stress. Emma shot him a glare.

"He's a medical doctor, Hook. He knew perfectly what he was doing."

Ruby ranted a bit more. It was nice to have someone to listen. Just the thing he didn't have.

"I didn't know you and the Doctor were involved." Killian said, noticing Ruby's watery eyes and her flashy outfit (and that perfume, good god).

"We weren't." Ruby admitted. "But I was hoping we could be... Gods, If I had done something sooner, showed him I cared..."

"It wasn't your fault, Ruby, it was his decision. In fact, you're the one that saved him by going to his apartment and not leaving when he wasn't answering."

"Then why do I feel this bad?"

Emma took Ruby in her arms and hugged her. She wasn't usually a big hugger, but she knew what it was to lose people. And it was obvious that her friend cared for the Doctor more than they'd known. Killian smiled sympathetically at her and got her a coffee, he too knew what was finding a loved one on the gates of death. And he didn't wish it on anyone.

The woman that took him away appeared some hours later in the waiting room and Ruby went straight away to her.

"He's still unconscious, but he'll probably wake up sometime tomorrow. We had to pump his stomach but I don't think there will be any lasting consequences. He was lucky that you found him when you did."

She sighed relieved, and Emma and Hook sent smiles her way.

"Can I see him?"

"Yes, of course, go ahead."

Before leaving, she said good bye to her friends.

"Thank you both so much for coming and listening to my stupid rants."

"Anytime." Emma said, simply.

"Aye, glad to be of service, Miss Lucas."

And so she left, to the silent room where her date for the night was. He was still as pale as when she found him but at least he was breathing better, with the help of some oxygen. She could hear it, going near, hear his breathing, see the movement of his chest and it was reassuring. Much.

"I hope your happy." She said, wiping a tear. "My mascara is ruined because of you."

Gods, he was beautiful, even laying there in that white bed.

"You should have called sooner, or I should have, but you know. Even if you only wanted to complain about patients, I would have listened."

Nothing.

"And now I'm mad because I dressed up and you can't see it. How stupid is that? But yes, I am mad, I put on all that make up and these mini-shorts just for you and can't watch me and now my make-up is ruined. I was bringing dinner, too, you know? I was so looking forward to this night."

Victor didn't move. At least, he looked peaceful.

"So you owe me a great night. And I'm not giving up until you make it up for me. I saved twice now, you know, so you it's not going to be easy."

Another lone tear fell down her cheek.

"I know our life isn't easy, and I know how much memories can hurt. But don't you remember what I told you? We can't let it stop us."

She caressed one of his cheeks.

"I was real happy when I saw that you called. I hope you know that. You may feel like you don't matter, but you do. And I'm really glad you called before doing anything, I'm glad you thought of me and I'm even glad I found you, as terrible as it was, because the alternative is so much worse."

There was mascara all over her face, but Ruby didn't care. She was just happy listening to him breathing.

"Thank you for thinking of me and calling. I've thought of you too. I'm gonna be here when you wake up, so you know you're not alone."  
...

"But you owe a great night."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked! There's not enough Frankewolf around, methinks. And there's not enough fic that addresses the fact that this guy meant to drown himself. So, here have some Frankenwolf angst with a nice lovely speech at the end. If you liked, please comment? All feedback appreciated!


End file.
